The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is investigating suspected anti-competitive conduct in relation to the supply of Solidworks software and related products and services in the UK.
The businesses currently under investigation are Dassault Systemes UK Limited, Solid Solutions Management Limited and Visiativ Solutions UK Limited, with the CMA stating it is investigating suspected anti-competitive conduct that infringes Chapter I of the Competition Act 1998 (CA98).
In its statement the CMA, said: “The CMA has not reached a view as to whether there is sufficient evidence of an infringement of competition law for it to issue a statement of objections to any party or parties.
“Not all cases result in the CMA issuing a statement of objections and no assumption should be made at this stage that the CA98 has been infringed.”
When contacted for a statement, Dassault Systèmes confirmed the investigation launched by the CMA, to which it is ‘cooperating fully’. “Dassault Systèmes remains fully committed to complying with all applicable laws and regulations and will make no further comment,” said a spokesperson.
The infringement of Chapter I may apply to both horizontal agreements (collusion between direct competitors) and vertical agreements (coordination across different levels of the supply chain). The law bans agreements that:
- Fix prices or trading conditions
- Limit production, control markets, or cap investment
- Share markets or sources of supply
- Apply dissimilar conditions to equivalent transactions, placing certain trading partners at a disadvantage
- Tie contracts to unrelated supplementary obligations
The investigation was opened on 30 June 2026, and an initial investigation will run information gathering until December 2026. The CMA can legally mandate companies to provide specific documents or information, including documents from overseas parent companies if they affect UK commerce.
There is no mention as to how this case has come about or as to how the CMA has been alerted to these allegations in order to open this investigation.
